


Tommy Knows: "Pilot"

by ThomE_Gemcity_06



Series: Eloquence of a Secret [1]
Category: Arrow (TV 2012)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Drama, Episode: s01e01 - Pilot, Friendship, Gen, Secrets, Tommy Knows!
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-19
Updated: 2017-05-19
Packaged: 2018-11-02 14:19:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,267
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10946298
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ThomE_Gemcity_06/pseuds/ThomE_Gemcity_06
Summary: After the kidnapping, Tommy confronts Oliver about what he saw.





	Tommy Knows: "Pilot"

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: I don't own Arrow, or it's characters.  
> Tag: Season 1, Episode 1 - "Pilot"

**aRRoW**

Tommy had been quiet, distracted. It was understandable; they'd both just been drugged and kidnapped two hours earlier.

An ambulance had checked them both out at the scene; Tommy was uninjured, but when the EMTs discovered that Oliver had been Tasered, they had wanted to take him to the hospital to get properly checked out. But the last thing Oliver wanted was to be at the hospital again. He assured them the he was fine and they had no choice but to release him. Being electrocuted, unfortunately was nothing new to Oliver. Just another thing he'd learned to endure on the island, in Hong Kong and Russia.

The police were kind enough to let the pair give their statements at the Queen Mansion, but that was the extension of said kindness as far as Quentin Lance was concerned.

"And what about you?" Lance directed the cutting question Tommy’s way. "You, uh, see this hood-guy?" his finger tapped harshly at the rudimentary sketch of a faceless guy in a hood on the low table.

"I saw..." Tommy tried to shake himself from his muddled thoughts. He looked up to find Oliver giving him a piercing look. It took effort to tear his eyes away. "Just movement. Everything blurry." He turned his eyes downward from the heavy gazes. "I was kind of out of it."

He zoned out again, because the next he focused, it was to Oliver standing from the loveseat, as the others departed.

"Oliver...?" he rose to his feet.

Oliver turn to him. "Alright, buddy?"

"Can we..." Tommy bit his lip. "Talk?"

"Tommy, you should go home, get some rest." Oliver put a friendly arm around his shoulder and started to lead him from the room. "I'll call the driver. It's been a crazy day."

"Just—stop." Tommy pulled out from under his arm. "You're treating me like a child. We were both kidnapped today, both drugged. But _you_ were tortured. _You_ ," Tommy stopped, choking on the word, "K--" He pursed his lips, his jaw jumping as he fought to finish; it was the millisecond of Oliver's _Oh, Shit!_ expression that he caught that pushed him to. "There was no guy in a hood. There was just-- just you, me, and those three masked guys."

Tense, Oliver quickly shut the sitting room door, his fingertips on Tommy's chest. "Of course there was a guy in a hood. Why would I make that up, Tommy?"

"I don't know," Tommy agreed. "Why would you, Oliver? Because I know what I saw."

"If you're so sure," Oliver returned. "Why didn't you say anything to Lance?"

"I'm confused, conflicted... scared!" he admitted. "What the hell, Oliver?!"

Oliver stonewalled, "What exactly do you want me to say to these crazy accusations, Tommy? Hm?"

"Oh, I don't know," Tommy mocked angrily, "How about the truth?" he threw up his hands.

"The less you know, the better." Oliver informed him coldly.

"The less-- no, screw that!" Tommy shook his head. "Tell me what the hell is going on, right now, or I _will_ tell Lance what I saw!" he pointed at the door.

"Damnit, Tommy!" Oliver cursed, running a hand over his short-cropped hair. He paced a distance away. "This is just something I have to do, okay?"

"What do you mean?" Tommy was horrified. "You killed those men, Oliver!"

"Easy! Keep your voice down." Oliver growled.

"Oh, I'm sorry! Do you not want people to find out?" Tommy returned in a still-loud voice. "Keep talking, buddy. _Explain._ "

Oliver sighed heavily. "I had no other choice. They weren't after a ransom. They were digging—they wanted information."

Tommy paused at that. "What information?"

Oliver went tight-lipped.

Tommy narrowed his eyes. "I'm sure Lance won't be as nice with these questions. He'd like nothing more than to lock you up and throw away the key."

Oliver took a deep breath, pinching the bridge of his nose as he leaned heavily on the back of the love seat. "All I know is what my dad told me before everything went to shit."

Tommy was quiet.

"Are you going to tell on me?" Oliver asked, dropping his hand.

"You ask that as if you broke a vase instead of killed three people." He was incredulous.

"I need to know, Tommy." Oliver said intently, straightening from the couch.

"I don't know." Tommy replied honestly. "I need to think. I need to process." He closed his eyes briefly and licked his lips, "But I think we should cancel the homecoming party."

"What?" Oliver shook his head. "No. We can't."

Tommy narrowed his eyes suspiciously at the man. "I can't believe I'm saying this, but... putting aside the whole killing-thing, we were just _kidnapped_ and you think it would be good to have a huge party?"

"Yes." Oliver nodded. "We need to appear normal. We're playboys, with all the shit we've gotten into, a little kidnapping isn't going to stop us from an awesome party!"

"No." Tommy scoffed. "I don't know what _you_ are, but that's not what I want to be for the rest of my life. In a couple years we're going to be thirty. I don't plan on being that sad."

"Tommy..." the blond pleaded.

"Jesus, Oliver." Tommy carded his fingers through his dark hair helplessly.

**X**

Tommy found himself in another unpleasant encounter with Lance. Because everything was not fine, everything was not okay. And it sure as hell wasn't normal! Not that anyone else seemed to realize it. Because Tommy was good at that; hiding _the-real_ way too uniformly behind that charming smile and mischievous blue eyes that got him into trouble as much as out of it.

Oliver suddenly appeared next to him. Tommy watched the man from the corner of his eye as he gave the detective the expectant sarcastic responses to his accusations. It quickly turned of course, like back at the house, to Sara, before Lance's partner pulled him away.

Tommy turned to Oliver, the pair isolated. "Some coincidence, huh?" he remarked. Oliver raised a eyebrow in accordance. "You asking to have your party here and that Hunt guy getting robbed, psh, and by the same guy that rescued us from the warehouse. I'm not quite drunk enough to be seeing double, but that some trick you pulled, buddy." He tapped Oliver's chest with his drink hand. "Guess I'm just the distraction, isn't that what the pretty assistant is for?"

"You're drunk, Tommy."

"I'm getting there." He wasn't, but he wished he was. "So this was you‘re plan from the st--"

"If I were you, Tommy." Oliver said lowly, "I'd just be glad I'm alive." He went to turn.

"Hey!" Tommy barked, done playing and grabbed Oliver's arm, stopping him. "That was fucked up, what you just said."

Oliver gave a contrite sigh. "You're right. I'm sorry." He glanced at his friend's hand, but Tommy didn't release his arm.

He tightened his hand. "What happened to you on that island?" he questioned imploringly.

"A lot." Oliver's throaty answer was all to brief, yet crushingly heavy.

Tommy saw such deep pain and sorrow in the blond's eyes before the shutters slammed shut and it was like it never even happened. Tommy dropped his hand and watched as the fake-Ollie got the party started again.

"Normal," he muttered, "Yeah, right."

Tommy drained his glass and turned back to the bar. He was sure alcohol would not alleviate this situation, just like it never did—but it sure as hell gave a great illusion of it. And he needed it badly right now because reality was titled on a broken axel.

**aRROW**

**Author's Note:**

> What did you think? I am hoping to do something similar with other episodes. I have at least some ideas for the next three episodes, so… perhaps something to look forward to?


End file.
